By-pass packer



April 6, 1954 M. o. JOHNSTON BY-PASS PACKER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept.18, 1948 3nventor Gflorneg April 6, 1954 M. o. JOHNSTON BY-PASS PACKERFiled Sept. 18, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 6, i954 BY-PASSPACKER Mordica 0. Johnston, Glendale, Calif., assignor, by mcsneassignments, to Johnston Testers, Inc., Houston, Tex., a corporation ofDelaware Application September 18, 1948, Serial No. 49,892

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an oil well tool and particularly pertains toa by-pass packer.

In performing various operations incident to the drilling of an oil welland preparing it for production, it is necessary to use a well packer ofthe sleeve type which may be set at a selected level within the well andwhich will form a fluid seal with a surrounding casin In view of thefact that the well casing is filled with liquid which is often of highspecific gravity, it is necessary for the liquid to be displaced as thepacker is lowered into the well. This resists a rapid movement of thepacker since there is relatively small clearance between the packer andthe surrounding wall of the well casing. Rapid movement of the packer tothe level at which it is to be set and when it is Withdrawn therefrom isessential, particularly when the packer is associated with a formationtesting tool. In order to withdraw the set packer from the well it isobvious that the iiuid seal between the Packer and the well casing mustbe broken so that the lifting operation of the packer will not be madeagainst the weight of the entire hydrostatic head of fluid which isimposed upon the packer when it is set. In order to meet theseconditions various types of packers have been provided to permit aby-pass of well fluid through the packer when the packer is beinglowered to its set position and to break the fluid seal after the packeris set so that the hydrostatic head of fluid may equalize in pressureabove and below the packer to facilitate rapid withdrawal of the packerfrom the well. In structures of this type there has often beendifficulty in breaking the fluid seal 1% and in unseating the packer.Under such conditions an excessive strain has been imposed upon thesupporting string of pipe and it is desirable to reduce this strain to aminimum so that the supporting string and the packer are not liable tobe damaged. It is the principal object of the present invention,therefore, to provide a, packer structure of the by-pass type, whichpacker is compact and rugged in its construction and is so designed asto insure that the packer may be rapidly lowered through the well casingto a desired level, easily set and rapidly withdrawn from the Wellcasing without imposing excessive strain upon the parts involved.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a packer including atubular mandrel upon which a sleeve is mounted to carry a deformablepacker, said sleeve being positively secured to a slip bowl at one endand movably connected with a by-pass valve seat at its opposite end tolimit upward movement of the seat and to permit the seat to movedownwardly when engaged by a by-pass valve carried by the mandrel.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Figure 1 is a view in central longitudinal section showing the upperpart of the packer structure in its open position.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the upper part of the packerstructure as set.

Fig. 3 is a view in transverse section through the slip bowl as seen onthe line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view in transverse section through the packer as seen on theline -t of Fig. l and shows the arrangement for fluid passage throughthe valve seat.

Fig. 5 is a view in transvers section through the slip cone and slips asseen on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a View in central longitudinal section showing the lower partof the packer structure in its open position.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the lower part of the packerstructure as set.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view showing an alternate form of connectionbetween the slips and the spring cage from that shown in Fig. '7.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, It indicates a supportinstring of pipe fitted with a pin ll. The pin II is threaded into the boxportion 12 of a packer head H3. The member It has a central fluidpassageway It formed through it, the lower end of which terminates in anenlarged threaded bore [5. The threaded bore l5 receives the upperthreaded end of a tubular mandrel It. This mandrel has a "central fluidcirculating passageway I! through it. The lower end of the mandrel I6 isthreaded and extends into the threaded bore I8 of a lower sub l9 whichis formed with a box portion 20 to receive the pin of any suitable toolto be connected therewith.

The lower end of the packer head I3 is formed with a cylindrical sectionof reduced diameter, as indicated at 2!. This section receives anananular deformable packing ring 22 which is here shown as being squarein section, and a frustoconical metal packing ring 23 which has an outercylindrical face 24 and a downwardly inwardly tapering face 25. Thelower end of the cylindrical portion 2| of the packing head isexternally threaded at 26 to receive a nut 21. The elements 22 and 23thus provide a by-pass valve member having an enlarged cylindricalportion and a frustoconical end portion. Mounted upon the tubularmandrel l6 below the by-pass valve is a valve seat element or member 28.This valve seat member 28 has a central passageway through it, the lowerend of which provides a bore 29 which has a sliding fit on the tubularmandrel. An enlarged portion 30 is formed on the tubular mandrel andprovides a shoulder 3| against which the valve seat member may abut andby which the downward movement of the valve seat member 23 is limitedwith relation to the mandrel l6 upon which it is mounted. The shoulder3| also assists in unseatin the packer on upward pull. The portion ofthe valve seat member 28 through which the bore 25 extends is formedwith longitudinally extending fluid passageways 32 which permit fluid topass from a counterbore 33 in the valve seat member to the fluid spacebeneath the valve seat member and within the packer. The upper end ofthe counterbore 3 3 communicates with a tapered valve seat 34 which isformed at the base of a cylindrical valve seat portion 35. The taperedvalve seat 34 is designed to be engaged by the inclined face 25 of thefrustoconical valve member 23, and the cylindrical portion 35. isdesigned to receive the annular packing ring 22. The lower end of thevalve seat member 28 is reduced in diameter and is externally threadedas indicated at 36. This threaded portion extends into the threaded boreof an upper packer collar 3] of a packer barrel structure composed ofthe by-pass valve seat member 28, the upper packer collar 31, the lowerpacker collar 49 and the. slip cone 52, and also including thedeformableannular packing 99. The packer collar 31 agrees in external diameterwith that of the valve seat member 28 and has a central bore 38 thereinwhich is substantially greater in diameter than the diameter of themandrel I6 extending therethrough. The lower end of the upper packercollar 31 is formed with a bore of reduced diameter, as. indicated at39. This provides an upwardly presented shoulder 40. Ex-

tending downwardly through the bore 35 is a 42. will engage the shoulder40 to limit downward movement of the tubular sleeve 4|. An annulargroove43; is formed around the circumference of the portion 42 of thesleeve 4| and receives an o-ring 44 which forms a fluid seal between theportion 42 and the bore 38 of the upper packer collar 3?. Attentionisdirected' to the fact that thespace between the shoulder 4|] on thupper packercollar 31: and the lower end face of the valve seat member28 is sufhcient to allow relative movement between these parts as thepacker is set, and at the same time will provide a fluid flow spaceindicated at 45.

The tubular sleeve 4| has an internal bore-46 of a diametersubstantially larger than the outside diameters of :the mandrel l6, thusproviding a fluidpassagew-ay 41 entirely through the sleeve 4|. Spacinglugs-48. are formed around the inner face of the bore lfi and engage theouter circumference of the tubular mandrel Hi to center the mandrel-withrelation to the sleeve 4 Mounted upon the lower end of the sleeve 4| isa lower packer collar 45; This collar has a downwardly extendincylindrical portion carrying threads 5 which engage threads within thebore of slip cone 52. The slip cone is also formed with a central boreof lesser diameter than the bore 5|, as indicated at 53. This bore isthreaded and receives the threaded end 54 of the tubular sleeve 4 Thetubular sleeve 4| is formed with a shoulder 55 which abuts against ashoulder 56 formed within the slip cone 52. The shoulder 56 is at thebottom of an annular fluid distributing channel 51 which is undercutwithin the bore 53. A series of radially extending ports 58 are formedthrough the wall of the slip cone and communicate with the annularchannel 51. Complementary ports 59 are fornied through the end of thetubular sleeve 4| and establish communication between the channel 57 andthe passageway 41 which occurs between the sleeve 4| and the mandrel l6.Extending downwardly from the shoulder 56 within the slip cone 52 is alongitudinal bore 59'. This bore is of smaller diameter than the bore53, and as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing is provided with a pair ofdiametrically opposed keyways 60. These keyways accommodate splines 6|of a hold-down sleeve 62. The tubular mandrel I6 extends through thehold-down sleeve 62 and has a sliding fit therewith whereby the sleevemay move longitudinally relative to the slip cone as required. Thesplines 6| are formed with shoulders 63 which limit the downwardmovement of the hold-down sleeve 62. A central bore 64 is formed withinthe slip cone 52. This bore is of reduced diameter as compared with thebore 59 and provides a sliding fit for the circumference of thehold-down sleeve 62.

By reference to Fig. 5 of the drawing it will be seen that the slip cone52 is formed with a plurality of longitudinally extending slip grooves65. These grooves have a, flat bottom face 66 which is longitudinallytapered upwardly and outwardly, as indicated in Fi s. 6 and 7 of thedrawing. The opposite edges of the grooves 65 are defined by inclinedfaces 61 which combine with the fiat faces 66 to form a dovetailguideway for wickered slips 58. In the form of the structure shown inFigs. 6' and 7 the wickered slips are connected to links 69 at theirlower ends by pins 15; The links in turn are connected by pins H to lugs12 formed at the upper end of a cage ring 13. The cage ring 13 is shownin Figs. 6 and '7 as being fastened onto the hold-down sleeve 62 byscrews 14. These screws also secure the upper ends of bow springs 15rigidly with relation to the sleeve 62; The lower ends of the bowsprings 75 are fastened to a cage ring 16 by cap screws 11. The cagering it is free to reciprocate along the hold-down sleeve 52. Adifferent form of this construction is shown in Fig. 8 of the drawingand Will be referred to hereinafter.

The hold-down sleeve 62 is formed with a J-slot 13, the lateral portion19 of which is so turned that unlatching is effected by turning to theleft. The portion 19 is formed with a recess parallel to the upper endof the slot. The slot I8 isv designed to receive a cage pin 8|. Thus theslot and the pin provide an inverted J-slot and pin arrangement whichmakes it possible for the tubular mandrel H5 and the hold-down sleeve 62to be held or latched against relative longitudinal movement and to bereleased optionally when desired.

Referring particularly to Fig. 8 another form of hold-down sleeve andslip connection is illustrated. In this structure a hold-down sleeve 82is provided formed with an upper enlarged end portion 83. This endportion has a central counterbore 34 which receives the lower end of thesleeve section 62. The sleeve section 62' is held in position within thecounterbore of the member 82 by cap screws 85. These cap screws alsofasten the upper ends of the bow springs in place. Formed on the upperend of the sleeve 32 are lugs i2, as previously described. These lugs inthe present instance are provided with lateral slots 86 which receivepins 81. The pins Bl extend through downward rigid fingers 83 formedintegral with wickered slips 68. This structure provides a rigidconstruction and is not liable to become broken when subjected to severeperformance.

In the operation of the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6,and '7 of the drawing it will be understood that the packer structure isattached to a supporting string of pipe It and that another string ofpipe may be attached to the sub 49 or other oil tools may be attached tothe sub, such for example as a formation tester. The tubular mandrel l6and the hold-down sleeve 62 are latched against movement relative toeach other by positioning the pins 8| within the seat 80 at the upperend of the inverted J slot 78. In this position the shoulders on thehold-down sleeve 62 will engage the shoulder E3 on the slip cone 52. Inview of the fact that the slip cone 52 is positively attached to thetubular sleeve 4!, this sleeve will be held down. The upper end portion42 of the tubular sleeve ii will engage the shoulder on the upper packercollar 31, and thus the valve seat 28 will be held against verticalmovement with its lower end abutting against the shoulder 3| on thetubular mandrel it. In this position the packer structure and any toolcarried thereby is lowered into the well casing. It will be noted thatthe entire structure will be held rigidly, and that the valve 23 will beheld off of its seat so that there will be a continuous anduninterrupted fluid passageway down through the bores 35 and 33 and intothe space 45, after which fluid will be free to flow through thepassageway 41 occurring between the tubular sleeve 4| and the mandrelIt. While in this latched position the springs i5 will frictionallyengage the wall of the casing through which the structure is beinglowered. The packer may be set by rotating the supporting string and themandrel while the hold-down sleeve is held by the springs 15. Attentionis directed to the fact that the hold-down sleeve is splined to the slipcone 52 through the keys 6! which slide in the keyways 60. Thus, theslip cone will be held against relative rotation to the hold-down sleevewhile the tubular mandrel is being rotated to release the mandrel fromits locked engagement with the hold-down sleeve. When the pin iii isrotated to an aligned position with relation to the vertical slot 18 inthe hold-down sleeve the mandrel may be lowered. This will permit thevalve 22 to move down into its seated position within the bore 35 andthe bore 33 with the tapered portion 25 resting upon the tapered portion3d of the valve seat. Thus the usual tapered valve seat will be providedas well as a cylindrical packing above the tapered seat. When weight isthen imposed upon the valve seat by the supporting string of pipe adownward pressure will be imposed upon the valve seat and the deformableannular packing 93 to force the cone downwardly and cause the inclinedfaces of the grooves to move along the under faces of the slips and toforce them outwardly into set positions against the casing. Furtherimposition of weight on the valve seat and the upper deformable annularpacking collar will cause the packer to be compressed longitudinally andex panded into a set position with relation to the surrounding wellcasing.

When it is desired to break the packer seal and withdraw the packer thisis accomplished by elevating the supporting member and the mandrel I6while the pins 8| move upwardly along the longitudinal portions 18 ofthe inverted J slots. This upward movement will break the fluid sealbetween the valve 22 and the seat member 35, after which the shoulder 3|on the mandrel US will strike the lower face of the valve seat member 28and will pull upwardly on the upper packer collar 3! to relievecompression upon the deformable annular packing which is mounted uponthe tubular sleeve ll and is disposed between the upper packer collar 3?and the lower packer collar Q9. The upper packer collar will then belifted until its shoulder All engages the corresponding shoulder on theenlarged portion 42 of the tubular sleeve 4!.

Attention is directed to the fact that when the packer is set, as shownin Figs. 2 and 7, the upper packer collar will move downwardly againstthe deformable annular packing 9t and will longitudinally compress thispacking. Thus there will be a considerable space between the shoulderll! on the upper packer collar and the portion 42 of the tubular sleeve4!. After the shoulder (ii on the mandrel enlargement 30 has engaged thelower end face of the valve seat member 23 the upper packer collar 31will be drawn upwardly and will relieve the weight of the drill stringand the collar from the deformable annular packing 90. This will givethe annular packing 96 an opportunity to expand longitudinally towardits original shape and thus to contract circumferentially. It is obviousthat there will thus be a tendency for the annular packing to break itsseal with relation to the wall of the well. As the supporting string ofpipe is further elevated the mandrel will lift the upper packer collaruntil its shoulder 48 engages the portion :22 of the tubular sleeve ll.The sleeve 4!, the lower packer collar 49, and the slip cone 52 willthen be lifted. This will take place while the upper packer collar 31and the lower packer collar 49 are spaced apart a maximum distance. Asthe entire packer structure is then lifted the annular packing 90 willnot be under longitudinal compression and will be free to adapt itselfto the tubular sleeve t! and thus to contract. Due to this arrangementthere will not be any tendency for the annular packing 9% to belongitudinally compressed as the packer is unseated. The result will bethat the packer can be unseated with much less efiort than would be thecase if the annular packing were confined between the upper and lowercollars as the sleeve is pulled loose from its seat.

It should be pointed out that the longitudinal keyways 6t which areformed within the bore 59 of the slip cone 52 are not only useful inreceiving the splines 6! of the hold-down sleeve 62 to prevent relativerotation between the holddown sleeve and the cone but that the splinesmay also receive a type of wrench for use in rotating the cone andthreading it onto the lower end of the tubular sleeve 4|.

The operation of the form of the invention shown in Fig. 8 is the sameas previously described save that the connection between the slips andthe hold-down sleeve is slightly different.

Attention is directed to the fact that the packer structure heredisclosed provides for the release of the packer by a pull on the partsabove the deformable annular packing 90 and does not depend on any upperforce applied to the lower end of the annular packing 90, thus insuringthat longitudinal compression of the deformable annular packing 90 willbe entirely relieved as the structure is being pulled from the well.This makes it possible to break the packer seal easily and in actualpractice it has been proved that a packer of this type can be unseatedwith less effort than most packers of usual design.

It will thus be seen that the packer structure here disclosed is ruggedin design, provides adequate bypass and circulation passageways, andacts to form a positive fluid seal by a structure which may be easilyunseated when the packer is to be withdrawn from the well.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention as now known tome, it will be understood that various changes may be made incombination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled inthe art, without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A well packer comprising a central tubular mandrel, a packer headfixed at the upper end of the mandrel, a valve element formed at thelower end of the packer head, a packer barrel structure through whichthe mandrel reciprocably extends, a valve seat member included in saidpacker barrel structure at the upper end thereof and with respect towhich the valve element may seat and unseat upon relative longitudinalmovement between the mandrel and the packer barrel structure, engageableannular abutments on the valve seat member and the mandrel for limitingupward movement of the mandrel relative to the valve seat member, anupper packer collar included in said packer barrel structure and securedto the valve seat member, a tubular sleeve reciprocably mountedcoaxially within the upper packer collar, engaging means on the collarand sleeve for limiting the downward movement of the sleeve relative tothe collar, a lower packer collar included in said packer barrelstructure and fixed on said sleeve, a deformable packing interposedbetween said collars and circumscribing thetubular sleeve, a slip conefixed to the lower end: of the tubular sleeve, a hold-down sleevereciprooably mounted within the slip cone and through which the tubularmandrel extends, interengaging means between the slip cone and thehold-down sleeve for permitting limited longitudinal movementtherebetween while preventing relative rotation therebetween, wickeredslips mounted on the exterior of the slip cone and articulatelyconnected to the hold-down sleeve and adapted to be moved outwardly topipe engaging positions when the slip cone moves downwardly relative tothe hold-down sleeve and slips, operable latch means between the tubularmandrel and the hold-down sleeve whereby the packer barrel structure maybe latched against longitudinal movement relative to the tubular mandrelto hold the valve member on the packer head and the valve in useatedposition relative to the valve seat, and a fiuid bypass channel withinthe packer barrel structure extending from the valve seat to a portformed through a part of the barrel structure below the deformablepacking.

2. A by-pass well packer comprising a packer head attached to asupportin string of pipe, a

8 tubular mandrel connected to said head and extending downwardlythereform, a hold-down sleeve through which said mandrel extends, a slipcone mounted upon said hold-down sleeve, means allowing limitedlongitudinal movement between the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve,means between the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve for preventingrelative rotation therebetween, a spring cage mounted upon the holddownsleeve and adapted to engage a easing into which the packer is lowered,wickered slips in slidable engagement with the slip cone andarticulately connected to the spring cage, releasable latch meansbetween the tubular mandrel and the hold-down sleeve for latching theslips in their lowermost and retracted positions and adapted to releasethe slips upon a predetermined manipulated movement of the tubularmandrel, a tubular sleeve fixed to the upper end of the slip cone, alower packer collar fixedly connected to the slip cone, a deformablepacking mounted on the tubular sleeve and abutting against said lowerpacker collar, an upper packer collar slidably mounted on the upper endof the tubular sleeve and abutting against the upper end of thedeformable packing, mean allowing only limited longitudinal movementbetween the upper packer collar and the mandrel, a valve seat memberfixed at the upper end of said upper packer collar and having a borethrough which the mandrel extends and a valve seat in said bore,abutment means on the mandrel and valve seat member for limiting upwardmovement of the mandrel through said bore of the valve seat member, a

valve member carried by the packer head above the valve seat member forsealing engagement therewith, the valve member being positioned in openrelationship to the valve seat when the hold-down sleev is latchedagainst movement relative to the mandrel, and a by-pass channel leadingdownwardly through the packer structure from the valve seat, between themandrel and the tubular sleeve and outwardly into the well bore belowthe deformable packing.

3. A by-passwell packer comprising a tubular sleeve, a deformablepacking mounted thereon, a fixed packer collar at the lower end of saidsleeve, a movable packer collar at the upper end of said sleeve andbetween which collars the deformable packing is disposed, means limitingupward movement of the upper packer collar relative to the tubularsleeve while permitting said upper collar to have downward movementthereover, a by-pass valve seat member fixed at the upper end of theupper packer collar and having a by-pass valve seat therein, a slip conefixed upon the lower end of the tubular sleeve, a hold-down sleevetelescopin within the slip cone, means limiting relative longitudinalmovement between the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve and preventingrelative rotational movementtherebetween, a spring cage structurecarried by the hold-down sleeve and adapted to frictionally engage thewalls of a easing into which the packer is lowered, wickered slipsmounted for longitudinal sliding movement upon the slip cone and adaptedto move toward and away from gripping positions, said slips beingarticulately connected to the hold-down sleeve, a mandrel slidabledownwardly through the valve seat, the tubular sleeve, the slip cone andthe hold-down sleeve and being capable of longitudinal reciprocation, avalve head secured at the upper end of the mandrel and adapted to engagethe by-pass valve seat when the mandrel moves downwardly relative tosaid seat, a fluid by-pass passageway extending downwardly through thevalve seat and around the mandrel to a point of communication with thewell below the deformable packing, means for positively limiting upwardmovement of the mandrel in relation to the by-pass valve seat member,and latch means between the holddown sleeve and the mandrel for holdingthe slip cone, the tubular sleeve, the upper collar, and the valve seatin their lowermost position with relation to the mandrel.

4. A bypass well packer comprising a tubular mandrel, a packer head onthe mandrel by which it may be connected to a tubing string, a valvehead at the lower end of the packer head, a bypass valve seat memberhaving a bore with a valve seat therein and through which the mandrelcoaxially extends and is longitudinally reciprocable, the space betweenwhich bore and mandrel forming a passageway, coengageable annularshoulders on the mandrel and the bypass valve seat member limiting theupward movement of the mandrel relative to the by ass valve seat memberwith relation to the mandrel, an upper packer collar arranged coaxiallyof the bypass valve seat memher and fixed thereto, a tubular sleevemounted coaxially 0n the mandrel and extending within said upper packercollar, means on the packer collar and on the sleeve permitting limitinglongitudinal movement therebetween, the tubular sleeve having aninternal diameter greater than the external diameter of the mandrel toprovide a fluid passageway therebetween, a deformable packingcircumscribing the tubular sleeve and abutting at its upper end thelower end of the upper packer collar, a lower packer collar mounted onthe tubular sleeve and fixed thereto with its upper end abutting thelower end of the deformable packing, a slip cone fixed to the lower endof the tubular sleeve, the walls of said slip cone having ports formedtherethrough to com municate with the fluid passageway between thetubular sleeve and the mandrel, wickered slips mounted on the slip conefor operation thereby, a hold-down sleeve extending into the lower endof the slip cone about said mandrel, means enabling a limited amount oflongitudinal movement between the hold-down sleeve and the slip cone, 2.splined connection between the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve toprevent relative rotation therebetween, articulate connections betweenthe hold-down sleeve and the slips, and a pin and inverted J-slotconnection between the mandrel and the hold-down sleeve for temporarilylatching the sleeve and associated parts in their lowermost positionrelative to the mandrel.

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